<p>One of my teachers to write recommendation has been decided,</p>
<p>but the other one, I'm really torn between two teachers</p>
<p>One teacher, who's American, is a really good writer and has experiences with
writing recommendations and all. Even though I think he likes me, I have a feeling
that he will not hesitate to put down some negative points. Not sure though</p>
<p>The other teacher, who's my French teacher, definitely thinks highly of me
and I'm sure she'll focus on all my positive aspects, but she's French
and even though her English is not bad, she's not used to writing.</p>
<p>I've heard that the person to write your recs has to be a good writer,
even though the content is very important..</p>
<p>Which teacher should I ask to write my recs?
any help will be appreciated :)</p>
<p>There are two schools of thought on this issue–one is that content matters more than writing ability; the other is that writing ability is paramount. My personal opinion is that you recs should be from people who can clearly express their ideas–otherwise, the content won’t get through to the adcom. This doesn’t mean your teacher needs a Masters in English, but they should be good at making their piont. Whether or not your French teacher can do that is your call.</p>
<p>Quick question: When you say the one teacher might mention some negative things, what do you mean? If a teacher can honestly talk about some of your less serious shortcomings, it adds a human dimension. What you should be wary of is a teacher who doesn’t know you well enough to write anything more than “unlocked is a hard worker.” Sometimes teachers with a lot of experience writing recs end up resorting to a template-like format for students they aren’t very close to.</p>
<p>My daughter is in a similar situation. One of her teachers, who was also the advisor to the service club my daughter was president of, knows her very well and would be able to give her a great, personal recommendation. However, she is young and english is her second language and we have learned from other students that she does not write very well. The concensus seems to be that she writes very enthusiastically, but in an immature way. My daughter is not sure whether to ask her or not. She does have other good options, but really thinks that this teacher knows her on a different level than her other teachers. Looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinion on this as I’m sure there are lots of kids in this predicament.</p>
<p>^ hi mom!
just kidding :D</p>
<p>anyone else…? bump</p>
<p>Perhaps the French teacher can get a pal to proofread the letter?</p>